The present invention relates to vacuum cleaners. More particularly, the present invention relates to bagless stick vacuum cleaners. Even more particularly, the invention relates to a stick vacuum with a dirt cup having improved air flow.
Stick vacuum cleaners are known in the art. These vacuum cleaners are typically more lightweight than traditional upright cleaners and lack the driven brush rolls of traditional upright cleaners. The lighter weight and lack of a driven brush roll allows these cleaners to be more easily manipulated by a user on different surfaces and/or a wider variety of surfaces than traditional upright cleaners.
For example, stick vacuum cleaners are often used on non-carpeted floor surfaces where a driven brush roll may damage the floor surface. A stick vacuum cleaner is also often used for surfaces with hard-to-reach areas or elevated surfaces. The lighter weight and more compact design of a stick vacuum compared to a traditional upright vacuum leads to greater maneuverability and ease of lifting.
Stick vacuum cleaners typically operate by drawing in dirt-laden air via suction that is created by a motor driving a fan or impeller. The dirt-laden air is drawn into the unit through a nozzle and passes through a dirt collection device such as a cup. After the air passes through the dirt collection device it is typically drawn through a filter. Examples of these types of cleaners are provided in U.S. Pat. No. 6,146,434 issued to Scalfani et al. (the ""434 patent) and U.S. Pat. No. 5,107,567 to Ferrari et al. (the ""567 patent).
Prior art versions of stick-type vacuum cleaners have several disadvantages. One of these disadvantages is a lack of adequate suction effective for removing dirt from the floor surface. Also, there is inadequate removal of dirt from the air stream, resulting from dirt having to fall against at least part of the force of the air flow, as air is pulled generally upward through the dirt collection unit. This lack of effective cleaning air flow reduces the ability of the stick-type vacuum cleaner to remove dirt and dust from the dirt-laden air.
Another disadvantage of the prior art stick vacuums is that the design of these vacuums does not allow for easy, clean removal of the dirt collection device. The prior art designs, such as the vacuum shown in the ""434 patent, result in difficult or awkward removal of the dirt collection unit, creating extra effort and jarring motions by the user which spill the dirt collected by the vacuum when the dirt collection device is emptied.
Yet another disadvantage of stick vacuums of the prior art, as seen in the ""434 patent and the ""567 patent, is the difficulty in replacing the filter unit. The filters of the prior art vacuums are often located in awkward, hard-to-reach positions. With these cleaners, a user must pull the filter out of the housing at an awkward angle, causing dirt and debris resting on the filter to fall onto surfaces around the vacuum cleaner. Thus, removal of a dirty filter for cleaning or replacement, as must occasionally be done, becomes a time consuming and messy task.
Still another disadvantage to stick vacuums of the prior art is the escape of dirt-laden air from the vacuum cleaner. Because the dirt collection device is intended for repeated removal by a user, simple seals are often present between the collection device and the other components of the vacuum cleaner. Thus, when the dirt-laden air is drawn through the dirt collection device towards the filter, some of that air and accompanying dirt escapes through the simple seals surrounding the dirt collection device and into the user""s atmosphere.
Accordingly, it is desirable to develop a new stick vacuum cleaner which would overcome the foregoing difficulties and others by providing improved air flow and better mounting of the dirt collection device and the filter.
In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, an upright vacuum cleaner is provided. The vacuum cleaner includes a floor nozzle having a suction inlet and a handle. A housing having a first portion is connected to the floor nozzle and a second portion is connected to the handle. The housing defines a cavity and at least one chamber. A dirt cup assembly is releasably connected to the housing and is at least partially received by the cavity and defines a cyclonic airflow chamber and includes a wall. An inlet duct is defined on the dirt cup assembly wall and a filter assembly is removably positioned in the dirt cup assembly. A motor assembly is disposed in the at least one chamber defined by the housing.
In another exemplary embodiment of the invention, a stick vacuum cleaner is provided. The vacuum cleaner includes a floor nozzle having a suction inlet and a housing is connected to the floor nozzle. The housing has a front panel and a rear panel and includes a cavity and at least one chamber spaced therefrom. The front panel of the housing defines a first aperture that opens into the cavity and the rear panel of the housing defines a second aperture that opens into the cavity, wherein the second aperture is smaller than the first aperture. A dirt cup is releasably mounted to the housing and is at least partially received in the cavity, wherein the dirt cup extends into the first aperture and into the second aperture when mounted on the housing and the dirt cup is removable from the housing in a frontal direction. A motor assembly is disposed in the at least one chamber defined by the housing.
In yet another exemplary embodiment of the invention, a stick vacuum cleaner is provided. The vacuum cleaner includes a floor nozzle having a suction inlet, a main handle and a housing having a first portion connected to the floor nozzle and a second portion that is connected to the main handle. The housing defines a cavity and at least one chamber. A dirt cup is releasably connected to the housing and is at least partially received by the cavity, wherein the dirt cup is movable in relation to the housing from a use position to an emptying position. A dirt cup handle is connected to the dirt cup assembly and is spaced from the main handle, wherein the stick vacuum cleaner may be lifted by the dirt cup handle when the dirt cup is in the use position. A motor assembly is disposed in the at least one chamber defined by the housing.
In still another exemplary embodiment of the invention, a stick vacuum cleaner is provided. The vacuum cleaner includes a floor nozzle having a suction inlet and a housing connected to the floor nozzle. A dirt cup assembly is releasably connected to the housing and the dirt cup assembly includes a base and walls which cooperate to define a cavity. An inlet duct is located on one of the base and walls of the dirt cup assembly. A filter support element is mounted on one of the base and walls of the dirt cup assembly and a filter is selectively mounted on the filter support element.
In yet another exemplary embodiment of the invention, a stick vacuum cleaner is provided. The vacuum cleaner includes a floor nozzle having a suction inlet A housing is connected to the floor nozzle and defines a cavity and at least one chamber. A dirt cup assembly is releasably connected to the housing and is at least partially received by the housing cavity, wherein the dirt cup assembly includes a front wall, a rear wall, a first side wall, a second side wall and a base wall, and the walls are interconnected to define a dirt cup cavity. A filter assembly is mounted in the dirt cup cavity and the filter assembly includes a top wall. A gasket extends away from an upper surface of the filter assembly top wall. A skirt extends away from a lower surface of the filter assembly top wall in a manner offset from the gasket, wherein at least one of the walls of the dirt cup assembly includes an upper portion having a projection, and wherein the filter assembly top wall gasket and skirt cooperate with the dirt cup wall projection to form a labyrinth seal. A motor assembly is disposed in the at least one chamber defined by the housing.
In still another exemplary embodiment of the invention, an upright vacuum cleaner is provided. The vacuum cleaner includes a floor nozzle having a suction inlet and a housing having a lower portion that is connected to the floor nozzle and an upper portion that is mounted on the lower portion. The lower portion of the housing defines at least one chamber and an air conduit and the air conduit is in fluid connection with the suction inlet. The upper portion of the housing defines a first cavity and a dirt cup assembly is releasably connected to the housing and is at least partially received by the first cavity. The dirt cup assembly includes at least one exterior wall and defines a second cavity. An inlet duct is located on the dirt cup assembly exterior wall in fluid communication with the air conduit when the dirt cup assembly is received in the first cavity, whereby air is drawn in through the suction inlet, through the air conduit, through the inlet duct and into the second cavity. The dirt cup assembly includes a base wall that defines an exhaust port, through which the air in the second cavity exits the dirt cup.
In yet another exemplary embodiment of the invention, an upright vacuum cleaner is provided. The vacuum cleaner includes a housing which comprises a floor nozzle and defines a first cavity and at least one chamber. A dirt cup is releasably connected to the housing and is at least partially received in the first cavity and defines a second cavity. The dirt cup includes a conversion port for above-the-floor cleaning and a motor assembly is disposed in the at least one chamber defined by the housing.